Muscle Tone Assessment by Machine Learning Using Surface Electromyography.

Muscle tone is defined as the resistance to passive stretch, but this definition is often criticized for its ambiguity since some suggest it is related to a state of preparation for movement. Muscle tone is primarily regulated by the central nervous system, and individuals with neurological disorders may lose the ability to control normal tone and can exhibit abnormalities. Currently, these abnormalities are mostly evaluated using subjective scales, highlighting a lack of objective assessment methods in the literature.

Wrist Rigidity Evaluation in Parkinson's Disease: A Scoping Review.

(1) Background: One of the main cardinal signs of Parkinson's disease (PD) is rigidity, whose assessment is important for monitoring the patient's recovery. The wrist is one of the joints most affected by this symptom, which has a great impact on activities of daily living and consequently on quality of life. The assessment of rigidity is traditionally made by clinical scales, which have limitations due to their subjectivity and low intra- and inter-examiner reliability.

Virtual reality and serious game therapy for post-stroke individuals: A preliminary study with humanized rehabilitation approach protocol.

Objective: The current study proposed the development and preliminary validation of a humanized training approach for upper limb rehabilitation of chronic post-stroke individuals, using serious game (SG) and virtual reality (VR) technologies.

Materials And Methods: Ten individuals with chronic stroke participated in the study. Accompanied by a health professional, 15 sessions of the SG were performed in a laboratory, in a humanized way, lasting between 30 and 45 min each.

SpES: A new portable device for objective assessment of hypertonia in clinical practice.

Spasticity is a motor disorder that affects millions around the world. It is a particular type of hypertonia characterized by the speed-dependent increase of the muscle stretch reflex, where its correct evaluation is essential for rehabilitation. The preferred method for this assessment is the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), a rank derived from clinical observations.

Polymer Optical Fiber Goniometer: A New Portable, Low Cost and Reliable Sensor for Joint Analysis.

The quantitative measurement of an articular motion is an important indicator of its functional state and for clinical and pathology diagnoses. Joint angle evaluation techniques can be applied to improve sports performance and provide feedback information for prostheses control. Polymer optical fiber (POF) sensors are presented as a novel method to evaluate joint angles, because they are compact, lightweight, flexible and immune to electromagnetic interference.